Hebrew: Expert Guides and Resources

The ancient language of Hebrew is still spoken today, and if you want to speak it, you need to know common greetings, basic questions, and the Hebrew alphabet. A Jewish blessing in Hebrew shows the language in action.If you’re attending a Shabbat dinner, familiarizing yourself with the common rituals of the special event is a great idea to help you thoroughly enjoy the night.

If you’re attending a Shabbat dinner, familiarizing yourself with the common rituals of the special event is a great idea to help you thoroughly enjoy the night. The information below will help you understand what Shabbat is, common Jewish traditions, Hebrew phases and language to know, and what to expect from the night of festivities!

Even outside Israel, Hebrew is an important part of Jewish life. Throughout history, the Jewish people have continued to hold onto the language of their native land. Today, although the majority of the world's Hebrew speakers live in Israel, about a million Hebrew speakers live outside of the state of Israel, most of them in North America.

The syntax (the arrangement of words to make sentences), or Tachbir (tahch-beer), of a Hebrew sentence is quite different from English. Have a look at the basics of word order — what syntax looks like in English, and how Hebrew is different. Also discover how to say there is and there isn't, because if you can use this simple sentence construction, you can say a lot — just plug in the noun of your choice, and you'll be speaking Hebrew!

Hebrew offers you many choices of ways to say hello and good-bye. Here are a few things to say in greeting: Shalom. (shah-lohm; Hello; peace.)Mah Ha'Inyanim? (mah hah-in-yah-neem; How are things?)Mah Nishmah? (mah neesh-mah ; What's up?)Mah Shlomcha? (mah sh-lohm-chah; How are you? Literally: How is your welfare?

Of course, when you buy clothes, you want to dress for the season. Whether you are wearing Begadim Yomiyim (beh-gah-deem yoh-mee-eem; casual clothes), Levush Chagigi (lah-voosh chah-gee-gee; dressy clothes), or even your Bigdei Shabbat(beeg-day shah-baht; Sabbath clothes, the Hebrew equivalent of "Sunday Best"), or if you live in a climate with four seasons, you want to have handy all kinds of clothes for the different weather.

The Hebrew alphabet is comprised of 24 letters and a point system that denotes vowel sounds because the alphabet itself has no vowels. The following table lists the letters and their sounds followed by the points and which vowel sound each represents.

To master Hebrew — or any language — you need to be able to ask questions. The following table lists the common question words and a few common questions that can come in useful if you’re in a Hebrew-speaking community: Question Hebrew (pronunciation) Question Hebrew (pronunciation) Who Mi (mee) How Eich (ech) What Mah (mah) How much does it cost?